Inspection Policies When Duration of Checkings is Non-Negligible

Inspection policy models deal with stochastically failing systems, in which failure is detected by inspection only. Previous authors assume that the time required for checking is zero, while the current study deals with preparedness models when duration of checking is non-negligible. Costs are introduced for checking, unknown lost time and repairing (or replacing) the failed system. Furthermore, uncertainty probabilities associated with inspections are introduced. Optimal checking policies are calculated for three different objective functions: expected loss per cycle, per time unit and per unit of good time. The models are solved by differentiation and by dynamic programming. Numerical results indicate that the optimal policy for IFR distributions is characterized by decreasing checking time intervals, with a marked difference only between the first and second intervals.     

Uniform controllability via the limiting systems

The relations between uniform controllability of a time varying system and mere controllability of its limiting systems are studied. The necessary and the sufficient conditions that are developed enable one to apply the available controllability tests in order to establish or refute uniform controllability. Examples and applications are provided along with the analogous considerations for observability.The research was supported by The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities—Basic Research Foundation.     

Solution-deposited carbon nanotube layers for flexible display applications

We have investigated two possible fields of application for carbon nanotube (CNT) networks in flexible displays. Transparent and conductive layers of CNTs were spray coated onto glass and plastic substrates. The spectral transmission of the produced layers is almost even for all wavelengths in the visible regime. A sheet resistance of 400 Ω/□ at a transmittance of 80% was achieved.Thin-film transistors (TFT) were created on silicon wafers and glass substrates using low-density CNT networks as a semiconducting layer. The process used for device fabrication on glass substrates is fully compatible to application on plastic foils. The transistors reach on/off ratios of more than five orders of magnitude and show device charge carrier mobilities in the order of 1 cm²/Vs. These values promise an application in active matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCD). Issues that need to be addressed are the homogeneity and reproducibility of the device properties.     

On-shell methods in perturbative QCD

We review on-shell methods for computing multi-parton scattering amplitudes in perturbative QCD, utilizing their unitarity and factorization properties. We focus on aspects which are useful for the construction of one-loop amplitudes needed for phenomenological studies at the Large Hadron Collider.     

The first solid enols of anhydrides. Structure, properties, and enol/anhydride equilibria(1)

Reaction of beta-methylglutaconic anhydride with NaOMe followed by reaction with methyl or phenyl chloroformate gave the corresponding O-methoxy (and O-phenoxy) carbonylation derivatives. Reaction of the anhydride with MgCl2/pyridine, followed by methyl chloroformate gave C-methoxycarbonylation at C3 of the anhydride. The product (4) was previously suggested by calculation to be the enol of the anhydride 5 and this is confirmed by X-ray crystallography (bond lengths: C-OH, 1.297 A; C1C2 1.388 A; HO...O=C(OMe) distance 2.479 A) making it the first solid enol of an anhydride. In CDCl3, CD3CN, or C6D6 solution it displays the OH as a broad signal at ca. 15 ppm, suggesting a hydrogen bond with the CO2Me group. NICS calculations indicate that 4 is nonaromatic. With D2O in CDCl3 both the OH and the C5H protons exchange rapidly the H for D. An isomeric anhydride 5a of 5 is formed in equilibrium with 4 in polar solvents. In solution, anhydride(s)/enol equilibria are rapidly established with Kenol of 6.40 (C6D6, 298 K), 0.52 (CD3CN, 298 K), 9.8 (CDCl3, 298 K), 22.8 (CDCl3, 240 K), and decreasing Kenol in CDCl3:CD3CN mixtures with the increase in percent of CD3CN. The percentage of the rearranged anhydride in CDCl3:(CD3)2CO increases with the increased percent of (CD3)2CO. In DMSO-d6 and DMF-d7 the observed species are mainly the conjugated base 4- and 5a. Deuterium effects on the delta(13C) values were determined. An analogous C2-OH enol of anhydride 15 substituted by 3-CO2Me and 4-OCO2Me groups was prepared. Its structure was confirmed by X-ray crystallography (CO bond length 1.298 A, O...O distance 2.513 A); delta(OH) = 12.04-13.22 ppm in CDCl3, THF-d8, and CD3CN, and Kenol = > or = 100, 7.7, and 3.4 respectively. In DMSO-d6 enol 15 ionizes to its conjugate base. Substantial upfield shifts of the apparent delta("OH") proton on diluting the enol solutions are ascribed to the interaction of the H+ formed with the traces of water in the solvent to give H3O+, which gives the alleged "OH proton" signal.     

Dialkoxyphosphinyl-substituted enols of carboxamides

Reactions of isocyanates XNCO (e.g., X = p-An, Ph, i-Pr) with (MeO)2P(=O)CH2CO2R [R = Me, CF3CH2, (CF3)2CH] gave 15 formal "amides" (MeO)2P(=O)CH(CO2R)CONHX (6/7), and with (CF3CH2O)2P(=O)CH2CO2R [R = Me, CF3CH2] they gave eight analogous amide/enols 17/18. X-ray crystallography of two 6/7, R = (CF3)2CH systems revealed Z-enols of amides structures (MeO)2P(=O)C(CO2CH(CF3)2)=C(OH)NHX 7 where the OH is cis and hydrogen bonded to the O=P(OMe)2 group. The solid phosphonates with R = Me, CF3CH2 have the amide 6 structure. The structures in solution were investigated by 1H, 13C, 19F, and 31P NMR spectra. They depend strongly on the substituent R and the solvent and slightly on the N-substituent X. All systems displayed signals for the amide and the E- and Z-isomers. The low-field two delta(OH) and two delta(NH) values served as a probe for the stereochemistry of the enols. The lower field delta(OH) is not always that for the more abundant enol. The % enol, presented as K(enol), was determined by 1H, 19F, and 31P NMR spectra, increases according to the order for R, Me < CF3CH2 < (CF3)2CH, and decreases according to the order of solvents, CCl4 > CDCl3 approximately THF-d8 > CD3CN >DMSO-d6. In DMSO-d6, the product is mostly only the amide, but a few enols with fluorinated ester groups were observed. The Z-isomers are more stable for all the enols 7 with E/Z ratios of 0.31-0.75, 0.15-0.33, and 0.047-0.16 when R = Me, CF3CH2, and (CF3)2CH, respectively, and for compounds 18, R = Me, whereas the E-isomers are more stable than the Z-isomers. Comparison with systems where the O=P(OMe)2 is replaced by a CO2R shows mostly higher K(enol) values for the O=P(OMe)2-substituted systems. A linear correlation exists between delta(OH)[Z-enols] activated by two ester groups and delta(OH)[E-enols] activated by phosphonate and ester groups. Compounds (MeO)2P(=O)CH(CN)CONHX show 相似文献   

The Quintile Share Ratio in location analysis

The inequality measure “Quintile Share Ratio” (QSR or sometimes S80/S20) is the primary income inequality measure in the European Union’s set of indicators on social cohesion. An important reason for its adoption as a leading indicator is its simplicity. The Quintile Share Ratio is “The ratio of total income received by the 20% of the population with the highest income (top quintile) to that received by the 20% of the population with the lowest income (lowest quintile)”. The QSR concept is used in this paper in the context of obnoxious facility location where the inequality is in distances to the obnoxious facility. The single facility location problem minimizing the QSR is investigated. The problem is investigated for continuous uniform demand in an area such as a disk, a rectangle, and a line; when demand is generated at a finite set of demand points; and when the facility can be located anywhere on a network. Optimal solution algorithms are devised for demand originating at a finite set of demand points and at nodes of the network. Computational experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithms.     

Tailoring the trajectory of cell rolling with cytotactic surfaces

Cell separation technology is a key tool for biological studies and medical diagnostics that relies primarily on chemical labeling to identify particular phenotypes. An emergent method of sorting cells based on differential rolling on chemically patterned substrates holds potential benefits over existing technologies, but the underlying mechanisms being exploited are not well characterized. In order to better understand cell rolling on complex surfaces, a microfluidic device with chemically patterned stripes of the cell adhesion molecule P-selectin was designed. The behavior of HL-60 cells rolling under flow was analyzed using a high-resolution visual tracking system. This behavior was then correlated to a number of established predictive models. The combination of computational modeling and widely available fabrication techniques described herein represents a crucial step toward the successful development of continuous, label-free methods of cell separation based on rolling adhesion.     

Spin Entropy

Two types of randomness are associated with a mixed quantum state: the uncertainty in the probability coefficients of the constituent pure states and the uncertainty in the value of each observable captured by the Born’s rule probabilities. Entropy is a quantification of randomness, and we propose a spin-entropy for the observables of spin pure states based on the phase space of a spin as described by the geometric quantization method, and we also expand it to mixed quantum states. This proposed entropy overcomes the limitations of previously-proposed entropies such as von Neumann entropy which only quantifies the randomness of specifying the quantum state. As an example of a limitation, previously-proposed entropies are higher for Bell entangled spin states than for disentangled spin states, even though the spin observables are less constrained for a disentangled pair of spins than for an entangled pair. The proposed spin-entropy accurately quantifies the randomness of a quantum state, it never reaches zero value, and it is lower for entangled states than for disentangled states.     

Competitive facility location under attrition

Equilibrium problems provide a mathematical framework which includes optimization, variational inequalities, fixed point and saddle point problems, and noncooperative games as particular cases. In this paper sufficient conditions for the existence of solutions of an equilibrium problem are given by weakening the assumption of quasiconvexity of the involved equilibrium bifunction. The existence of solutions is established both in presence of compactness of the feasible set as well with a coercivity assumption. The results are obtained in an infinite dimensional setting, and they are based on the so called finite solvability property which is weaker than the recently introduced finite intersection property and in turn, weaker than most common cyclic and proper quasimonotonicity. Some examples are presented to illustrate the various cases in which other existence results for equilibrium problems do not apply. Finally, applications to the solution of quasiequilibrium problems, quasioptimization problems and generalized quasivariational inequalities are discussed.